


Dreamfasting

by Jag_Erin



Category: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, Drama, Dreamfasting, Dreamstitching, F/M, Family Drama, Gelfling, Gelfling Society, Gelflings Don't Have Sex, Pre-Canon, Romantic Fluff, Virginity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-10-13 00:00:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20573087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jag_Erin/pseuds/Jag_Erin
Summary: Sifa Clan Gelfling, Odila is going with her siblings to Sami Thicket for the first time to take part in their Market Days. She's never stepped foot off her family ship before and has mixed feelings about interacting with land gelflings. When she meets the half Spriton Half Stonewood named Kylan she's forced to confront not only her own feelings, but the past of her own sister. Things are changing in the world and all the young Sifa wants is happiness.





	1. Chapter 1

It was her first time on land in her trines. Maudra Ethri said it was time for her to see more than the waves lapping at the sides of her family boat. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to explore. All the Sifa enjoyed exploring. Wanderlust, they called it. She just wasn’t so sure going to Sami Thicket was the best place for her to start her journey. Why not the forest or the desert? Why did she have to go watch some Spriton lunkhead farm turnips to take to market? Maudra Ethri said she could learn a lot from the farming clan. That they were strong Gelflings. Thankfully, she didn’t have to be there long. She was just going with her sister and brother to trade in their market. 

“Odila, stop dallying!” her brother called.

She was trying, but it was hard. They had let her ride in the cart most of the way, but they refused to enter the village towing her like she was some sort of princess. She had to walk. Brother said she had to learn how to use her land legs. That mother and father had spoiled her by letting her live on the boat and never making her get off. Where most Gelflings had trouble moving on a boat, Odila had trouble standing on land.

The biggest problem she had was taking her steps too hard. She would plant her feet harder than needed and feel a sharp pain shoot up her leg. The smells were difficult too. She missed the salty smell and the smalls of the land were very overpowering, making her feel queasy.

“I’m coming!” she shouted as she started to jog after the cart. Her brother and sister were not taking it easy on her anymore. Not that she expected them to. Her feet were tired. It wasn’t that she didn’t work hard on the boat. Odila did everything her parents did. She made nets, she pulled in the fish, she went diving, and she even helped with repairs. But all this walking felt unnecessary, “Are we almost there?” she asked as she caught up and huffed to take breaths.

“Just over the hill,” her Obie responded, “You can rest when we get there. We’ll make camp outside of the village,” Odila also found out that she did not like camping. Sleeping in the dirt was not fun. It made her body feel sore. Nothing on land seemed to have a fluid motion and she missed that.

“Don’t tell her she can rest,” her sister, Odette, was always a little harsher on her, “We must meet with the Maudra first,” it was proper to introduce themselves if they would be trading on the Spriton lands, “Odila will present us. She needs to learn to do it,” as the oldest of the three of them, Odette had the final say.

“Yes, Sister,” they both responded as they continued to walk. 

Odila set a hand on their cart to steady her walking with her sore feet as they went. She felt nervous. She had spoken with Maudra Ethri and Elder Cadia several times in her life, but meeting another Maudra made her stomach feel tight, “Don’t worry,” her brother tried to calm her, which meant he likely saw her tugging at the ends of her hair, “You’ll do fine. Everyone is nervous the first time.”

“Mother says people don’t like the Sifa.”

“Of course they don’t,” he said with a smile, “We’re swindlers, smell like salt, and can survive anything. Meanwhile, most of them will never see anything beyond their little huts and they smell like dirt. We get to see a part of Thra that they will never understand and they hate us for that. We can come see their lands and explore all of Thra, while all they will ever know is the land. They will never see the reefs or the deep, dark depths. We ride the waves of the stormiest nights. Drop a lone Sifa on a deserted rock in the middle of the ocean, and return a trine later to find that they have not only survived, but built a home and started a family. What other clan can do that? They are jealous, so they pick on us. To bring us down. But no Sifa can be brought down. Hold your head high and speak with a voice as powerful as the ocean.”

“...I’ll try,” it made her feel awful to say it like that. Obie seemed to have such confidence in her and she simply didn’t feel like it was her place to represent her family. Odette was the eldest and Obie was the only son. Odila was the extra. Most families had one. It was hard to tell when a string of sickness would plague their kind or when disaster would happen. It never hurt to have another child or two just in case. Not that anyone would ever say that. She knew their parents loved her, but she simply wasn’t one of the important children. She was the spare and that made it hard to feel like she was important.

“That’s the best you can do,” he patted her head softly before walking ahead.

Sami Thicket came into view and she felt grateful for it. It felt like they had been traveling for days. There had been faster ways to make it here, but Odette insisted they do it the long way. Said Odila had to learn. It was muggy this time of year and everything was shades of green and brown. A sprawling, open land surrounded by tall grasses, streams and porous dirt prime for burrowing and digging creatures to make their burrows. Obie told her that Sami Thicket was generally abandoned most of the year. The Spriton Clan tended to live on their farms spread throughout the plains, but they would come to the village for special occasions. Odette and Obie said that market days in Sami Thicket were one of those occasions. 

Shutters and doors on all the huts were wide open and there was a flurry of dark haired Gelflings mulling around the village center. Stalls were being put up to store trade, tents set up for those who did not have a hut in the village, and fires being started in various places to cook meals. It was a festive occasion. At one time, only the Spriton were involved, but now Gelflings from all around came to trade. It wasn’t as big an occasion as trading days in Ha'rar, but it was a lot more Gelflings than she was used to seeing in one place. If this went well, she would be expected to join her siblings and clan members in Ha’rar for the next trading days.

Odila stayed close to their cart as they entered the village square. Some Gelflings looked at them, but many were busy with their own things. Her eyes landed on a stall that was lined with smooth river stones. She liked smoothed stones. They were good for carving protection charms into. It was hard to find them living on the boat, but sometimes her brother brought them back. She could get her own now, she realized. That perked her up a little. Odila liked little things. Trinkets, her mother called them. Her cabin was littered with them.

“Hey!” she heard someone call out.

“Odila!” her sister hissed, “Watch the road!”

Her eyes shot up from the stall she had been looking at to see a Spriton Gelfling standing on the other side of their cart. She had been nudging it slowly off the road and had managed to nearly run him over. He was pinned up against the wall of one of the huts and looking at her like she was crazed. He had the long, pointed face and long black hair his people were known for. This was his home and she had nearly run him down. Granted being hit by a cart was a lot better than being knocked off a boat and possibly drowning in the waves. Still, it was rude of her, “I...I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright,” he smiled softly, “Just be careful. Don’t want to cause any inter-clan incidents on the first day of market.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?!” Odette snapped.

The young Spriton put his hands up in defense, “Nothing. Just a little joke to lighten the mood.”

“You think I don’t understand jokes?” it was embarrassing to listen to her sister act this way.

“Well, I...I’m trying not to assume much at the moment. Was just hoping not to get run down by a cart full of dried fish,” he smiled again.

“Because that’s all my people do? Run people down and carry around fish.”

“Uh…” the dark haired Gelfling seemed to be getting overwhelmed and Odila didn’t blame him. This was how Odette was all the time. 

Thankfully, her brother was there to reel her back in. Obie was good at that because he knew how to appeal to what was important to Odette, “Odette, we have to get going. Do you want to be last in line to see the Maudra? The longer it takes, the worse cart placement we’ll end up with.”

“Right,” she nodded and snatched the reigns from Odila hands so she could control the cart now. Obviously Odila had done a bad job with it.

She lingered for a moment as the cart moved. The Gelfling brushed the front of his tunic off a bit before standing upright a little more, “Sorry about that.”

He shook his head, “It really is alright. First time in market?” she nodded lightly, “There’s a lot to see. It happens. You’re Sifa, right?”

Odila narrowed her eyes at him, “You can tell because…? The fish…?”

“No. No,” he smiled again and she felt her heart beat a little faster. He was very handsome, “Your hair,” to which she reached up and touched the short, deep red curls, “You can find at least one person with red hair in every clan, even mine, but not red like a Sifa. Or the curls. At least not natural curls like that.”

Odila felt her cheeks warm and she looked down at her feet, “Oh…”

“I’m Kylan.”

She shifted her feet a little before looking back up at him, “I’m Odila.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Odila. I think you’ll like Sami Thicket.”

“I...I think I will too,” despite her complaints about it at first.

Her knees felt weak as he continued to smile, “Would you like me to show you to the Maudra?”

“I’m sure my sister and brother know where it is. They’ve been here before.”

“But they are gone.”

Odila’s head shot up and she looked around fast. Sure enough, she didn’t see her siblings or their cart. Just crowds of Gelflings from various clans mulling about. She was sure it wouldn’t be difficult to find the Maudra, but she was nervous to do it alone. She’d never been alone while being surrounded by so many people before and it was not a pleasant feeling, “Oh my…”

“It’s just this way,” he motioned, “I can show you.”

“I would...appreciate that. Thank you,” after the fuss her sister had made about her being the one to represent their family this time, she was a little miffed that Odette would leave her behind like this. She had no doubt that her sister would send word back to their parents about Odila wandering off. 

“When was the last time you were in a village?”

His voice brought her thoughts back to the current moment instead of worrying about how disappointed her parents were going to be with her, “Huh? Oh...well, I’ve never been to a village before,” she felt her cheeks warm up at the look of surprise on his face, “This is the first time I’ve been off my family boat, other than just swimming and diving.”

“Really?! That’s so…” she waited to hear the things her sister said about it. That it was strange, weird, or even pitiful, “...incredible. You’ve spent your whole life on water? How many trines are you?”

“Yes. My whole life. I’m twenty trines.”

“Twenty trines on water. I’ve never been on a boat before. Not a big one. Just a small one to cross a river. Not sure that really counts or not. Certainly nothing compared to a Sifa ship. I would love to be on a Sifa ship one day.”

“Really?” her sister had told her that most land Gelflings thought very little of the Sifa. 

“Oh yes. I think it would be fun.”

Odila felt her face heating up again, “Maybe…”

“Odila!” her head snapped up and she saw her brother standing in line with other Gelflings. Odette was standing near by with their cart, looking none to pleased.

“And here we are,” Kylan responded, “It was good meeting you, Odila. Perhaps we’ll see each other again.”

“I’d...I’d like that,” she said softly before her brother shouted for her again, “Bye,” she said softly again as she started to walk off. Peeking over her shoulder, Odila saw Kylan smiling at her and she tripped over her feet a little. Her brother caught her and laughed a little, “Sorry.”

“Odette is not going to be happy with you.”

“Odette isn’t happy with anything,” she muttered as her thoughts went back to the black haired Kylan. He seemed very kind. She wasn’t used to meeting Gelflings that kind.


	2. Chapter 2

The reaction she had was likely a great overreaction, but it happened anyway. He called out to her and she felt a hand on her shoulder, so she reacted. Odila wasn’t used to being around so many Gelflings. When her sister told her to bring the cart back to their campsite by herself, she had already been nervous. It wasn’t like she expected to anyone to try to steal from her. For the most part, people did their business with Obie or Odette and went about their day. Still, she felt scared pulling the cart up the road towards the camp area by herself. It wasn’t like Odila couldn’t defend herself and Gelflings were known for attacking each other physically. She was perfectly capable of keeping herself safe under water, but she wasn’t underwater and she didn’t have a spear.

So feeling the hand on her shoulder, she turned fast and threw her hand out. Odila had no intention of hitting anyone if she could help it. 

“Did you...hit me with a fish?,” she was surprised to see Kylan standing an arm's length from her. He was staring down at the fish on the ground with amusement on his face, “Well, that’s a first.”

“K-Kylan,” she hadn’t the time to think about the dark hair Spriton today with all the bustling about of the day. Odette was a natural at haggling for their goods and Obie was good at finding deals at other carts. That left Odila to do all the heavy lifting. She had to wrap things, keep everything organized, and now she had to drag the cart back to their tent. Thinking about a handsome Gelfling she had met for all of ten minutes the day before was the last thing on her mind. Yet here he was standing near her again.

“I don’t think I’ve ever considered that I’d be hit with a fish,” her cheeks warmed as he bent down to pick up the dried fish and held it out to her with a smile, “Your sister drives a hard deal. I don’t think she’d be happy to know you threw one at someone and left it behind.”

“I’m sorry,” she didn’t know what else to say. He might not have ever imagined getting hit by a dried fish, but she also never thought she would ever throw one at someone, “I just…” there wasn’t really an excuse for it and she just bashfully took the fish from him and set it back on top of the barrel in the cart, “Bye.”

“Wait. Where are you going?”

Odila looked at him strangely, narrowing her eyes a little, “Well, I just hit you with a fish. I figured that was the end of the conversation.”

He laughed and shook his head, “I startled you. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have grabbed your shoulder.”

“...So what do you want? If you want to buy something, you should talk to my sister. She’s in charge of that,” her sister had taken away any rights to her doing that after her fumbling talking with the Maudra Mera the day before. The Spriton leader seemed kind and well meaning, but Odila had been less than convincing on why they should get a good place to put their cart during the market days. They ended up closer to the back and more on the outskirts. Odette had been less than pleased. She tried to make excuses for her failure to get a good spot. Tried to say that Odette should have told her sooner. That she would have had more time to prepare herself. But those were just excuses.

“Buy something? Not that,” he smiled, “I saw you walking back and I wanted to see if you wanted to come sit with some of us,” he pointed back off towards the village center were some of the Gelflings had started a fire and were playing music, “We have food too. I made a big pot of broth.”

“I’m sorry. Odette would be upset if I traded,” she wasn’t entirely sure yet of the value of everything they had brought with to do trading herself. Her mother and father had given her a few things for herself, but she wasn’t sure what she could trade them for yet. As for the bag of unbroken sea shells she had collected for herself, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to trade them or not.

He looked confused, “Why trade…? Once the market is over for the day, we share a lot. It’s a good way to get good trades the next day though. Give a Gelfling a taste of it and they might want to buy more. It’s like sampling. Not that you’ll be expected to buy tomorrow. It’s just...fun.”

Her eyes looked over his shoulder again to the fire. She could hear the other Gelflings starting to get rowdy. There was music playing softly and she could hear chattering. She’d never seen a Gelfling gathering before. Despite the clan differences, once there was enough ale passed around and enough free food given out, even the most stubborn could be coaxed into a bit of fun. There were always stories passed around about a time when clans didn’t exist and all Gelflings just simply co-existed. If those days ever really existed, they were long gone. Yet there were times when one could believe they might have been real.

The Sifa were loners. While they allowed any Gelfling who could handle their lifestyle and culture to call themselves Sifa, they were not exactly friendly. They were hard and stubborn. They stuck very closely to their immediate families. Mates were usually found at gatherings and were usually those that were willing to adopt the Sifa way of life. Out of all the clans, Sifa were the most likely to not take a mate and live their life in solitude on their boats.

Despite that, that didn’t mean they didn’t yearn to travel and meet others. They simply did it in their own way. The thought of going down to the gathering in Sami Thicket made her both excited and nervous, “I really should get the cart back to our tent. I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry,” his smile made her heart flutter, “If not tonight, perhaps tomorrow. It’s every night.”

Odila wanted to say yes to coming tomorrow night. That she wanted to see what it was like. That she was ready to fully step off the boat and see what the world of Thra was really like. She had dreamed of what it would be like to travel the land as well as the waters of Thra and ever since getting off the boat she had done nothing but complain. Kylan was offering her a chance to do something small to start herself off. Yet she was so hesitant to actually go through with it. It actually made her feel a little ashamed of herself. As brave and outspoken as she was on her family boat, that Odila had apparently been left on the boat, “I’ll try to come. Thank you for telling me about it,” Odette certainly hadn’t. Then again, neither had Obie.

“I hope you do. Have a good night, Odila.”

She watched him turn from her and start down the road back towards the village center. Her eyes went back to the cart for a moment before going back to him, “Kylan!”

“Hn?” he turned to look at her, “Yes?”

“Why are you being nice to me?”

That smile of his was so gentle and kind, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because...you don’t know me and I’m Sifa.”

“If I don’t know you, then I should be nice to you. Why would I be unkind to someone I don’t know? You’ve yet to give me a reason not to be. All you’ve done is almost run me over with a cart, but that was just you seeing a new place. You did throw that fish at me, but I surprised you. As for being Sifa, I’m Gelfling and you’re Gelfling. What’s the difference?”

Her face warmed up and she looked down at her feet for a moment, “I think there are a lot of Gelflings that would disagree with you.”

“There are. But that’s their problem, not mine.

It was difficult to find a response for that. Odila decided against trying to, “I should go.”

“Be careful on your way back. I recommend if you need to throw a fish again, aim for the face next time. You might knock them out. Dried fish can be a good weapon,” he smiled and she knew he wasn’t teasing her maliciously.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Good night, Kylan,” she gave him a small smile back before grabbing the rope of her cart and starting her way back towards their tent.

“Good night, Odila,” she heard him say lightly as she started to put some distance between them.


	3. Chapter 3

“You better go before Odette sees you.”

“Why?” he asked as he fiddled with a seashell.

“Because my sister does not like you.”

“Really?” he sounded genuinely surprised, “Most Gelflings like me.”

“Well she doesn’t like anyone and she said you were an annoyance,” her sister had got onto her for taking too long to get the cart back to their campsite the night before. For some reason, she admitted that she had been talking to Kylan about going to the gatherings at night. Odette had shut that down fairly quickly. Saying that they were here for a job, not to have fun. She had tried to get her brother in on her side of it, but Obie said that Odette was in charge and had more experience in these things.

Odila hid the smirk on her lips as his mouth dropped open in shock at being called an annoyance, “I have to wonder what you told her about me.”

“I didn’t tell her anything other than that you asked if I wanted to come to the gathering. Odette considers everyone an annoyance, so you should be happy she doesn’t see you as anything special from anyone else.”

“Speaking of...will you be coming tonight? Market will be closing in a little bit.”

Odila looked over at him. He was looking through the seashells and dried coral bits she had laid out, “I don’t think I should.”

Their eyes met for a moment before she looked down at the seashells, “That’s alright.”

“What’s alright?”

They both jumped a little at the sound of Odette’s voice. The taller Sifa Gelfling walked around to stand next to her and eyed Kylan, “The shells. He likes them,” she said softly.

“I do? Yes. I do,” he smiled before holding up a red shaded shell, “Do you collect them yourself?”

“Yes,” it was hard not to smile back at him. He had come over some time ago and had spent the whole time talking to her in his sweet tone. He was very kind and gentle in everything he did. He moved easily and gracefully over the bumpy land, where she still stumbled a bit and occasionally set her feet down too hard, “There are a lot of underwater caves where they can be found. It’s really…”

“Do you have anything to trade for them?” her sister cut off their conversation.

Kylan didn’t seem put off by it though, “In fact, I do,” she wanted to tell him that it wasn’t necessary. That if he wanted a silly little shell, he could have it. It wasn’t like she didn’t have hundreds of them back in her cabin on their family ship. But he pulled out a firca. It wasn’t a finished one. It didn’t have the holes drilled into it yet, but she could tell what it was meant to be, “I can finish this by tomorrow. You can have it for all the shells and coral on this table.”

“Kylan…” she started.

“We don’t need musical toys. We need barreled grains, forged steel, threads, and strong cloth. Come back when you have something of real value.”

Odila had to wonder if this was the way her sister always ran things. It wasn’t as if her methods didn’t work. She always brought back more than most of the other Sifa when it came to practical supplies. It just felt so cold to Odila. She heard other Sifa say that Odette had ice water in her heart, “Odette, these are my shells. If I want to trade them for a firca, I will.”

The look on her sister’s face was not only priceless, but also terrifying. It was fairly common for Odette to get her way. Mother and Father tended to agree with her, because she was good at what she did. Obie didn’t care too much one way or the other because he could just leave whenever he wanted. It wasn’t often that someone told Odette that they were going to go against what she had to say, “I need to speak with my sister in private. Leave,” she ordered Kylan, “Come back when you’re ready for a real trade.”

The Spriton Gelfling seemed ready to obey like most people tended to do, “He doesn’t have to leave. I was talking with him and I’d like to finish talking with him,” the poor, gentle Gelfling seemed at a loss of what to do. His face was confused as he tried to decide whether he should stay or go. Things likely got a lot more intense than he had hoped for it to.

“Perhaps I should go…” he said softly.

“Odila…” her sister’s voice was tense.

“Kylan,” she was addressing him now, but her eyes were locked with her sister’s, “I don’t know how to play the firca. I don’t think the shells I have here are worth the craftsmanship you put into making one. I have a small chest of shells and coral back at our tent. If you think it would be fair, I would like to trade you them all for this firca and ask if you’d be willing to teach me.”

“And when would he have the time to do that, Sister?” Odette’s glare was as sharp as jumping into cold water from the top mast.

“Tonight at the gathering. Tomorrow night too. And possibly the night after. After all, Sister, you said these market days can go on a long time if the trading is well,” she had been hesitant to actually go to the gathering, but the decision was easy to make in the heat of the moment.

Odette’s lips pursed tight, practically disappearing before she responded, “We discussed the gatherings last night, Odila. We decided they weren’t right for us.”

“I don’t remember that. I remember you talking and telling me I should go to sleep. I don’t remember a discussion.”

“...I’m going to go now…” Kylan chimed in again, “...I’m not sure this fully involves me…” which to a degree he was right.

Odila wanted to spend time with the kind and handsome Spriton. She liked the way he smiled and the way he talked to her. He wasn’t anything like what she was told land Gelflings would be like. She had met plenty that were. So many Gelflings seemed to only want to trade with their own clan and so many said the most awful things about each other after trading. Kylan didn’t do that. He was sweet and he seemed sincere. 

It was more than that now though. Odila wasn’t a childling anymore. She had left the boat and she was learning. The thought of continuing to be pressed under Odette’s thumb was saddening. If she planned on becoming a Gelfling of her own, she would have to wiggle free of Odette’s icy grasp, “That’s fine, Kylan. I’ll see you later. Tonight. I’ll bring the shells for you to look at,” to drive home the point that this was really about her and Odette, she never broke eye contact with her sister.

“I look forward to looking through them,” he commented.

Whether he left right away or not, she wasn’t sure. She was still trying to stare down her sister, “You’re not going to that thing and you’re not seeing that Spriton.”

“Why? Why can’t we have a bit of fun, Odette? Some of us don’t want to sit in a tent all night waiting to fall asleep. Our Maudra sent me with so that I could get some experience. I can’t do that by myself in a tent. What is so wrong with having fun? Some Gelflings actually have a personality, Odette,” her last words came out suddenly. She didn’t mean it. Odette was different, but she was her own Gelfling. But the words were out and there was no taking them back.

The look on her sister’s face was one she had not seen before. It was an eerie look. The lines relaxed and she straightened up a little, “Oh. Is that so? Very well then. Do as you please, but don’t come crying to me when it goes wrong. A Gelfling lacking in personality is hardly the person you should go to in a time of need. Perhaps Obie will be kind enough to help.”

Odila narrowed her eyes, “And who says it will go wrong?”

The older Sifa simply shrugged her shoulders and pushed past her, “Don’t put your silly shells out on our cart anymore. It’s unprofessional. Make sure you lid the barrels tight before you go to your little party and don’t wake me up when you came back. I have real work to do and I prefer to get my rest.”

She suddenly felt bad about what she had said. Not terrible, because some part of it felt true to her, but bad that she had done it so publicly where anyone could hear, “Odette…”

“That’s enough, Odila. There’s nothing more to say.”

Odila didn’t fully agree with that, but it did seem best to stop. It might get worse if they continued talking about it, “Very well.”

Instead, she started scooping her shells and coral bits up and dropping them into her bad.


	4. Chapter 4

Odila’s face twisted a little as she held the green fruit in her hand. It was about the width of her palm, green with some reddish looking bruises. The color didn’t bother her, but the way it felt did. It felt heavier than it looked, but it also felt soft. Softer than it looked. Wrapping her fingers around it, it felt like it would explode if she grasped too hard. It was as if it were straining against the green skin, “I don’t want to eat this.”

“It tastes good.”

“That’s what you said about the jackberries and those tasted like dirt,” she sneered again as he reached over and carefully cut the green skin of the fruit in her hand. She could feel the pressure release a little and peeked inside the cut, “I still don’t want to eat it. I’m not even sure how to eat it.”

“Just stick the spoon in the cut and scoop it out,” he pulled the green skin apart and dug the wooden spoon into it, “Remember, you hit me with a fish.”

“Oh, so I have to eat weird things all night because you snuck up on me and I defended myself?”

He smiled and pulled the spoon back, eating the fruit himself before speaking again, “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

Odila was hesitant to believe that, “Really?”

Kylan nodded, “Of course.”

Part of her wanted to believe it, “Perhaps that’s how it works here on land, but out on the ships, if someone doesn’t do something simply because they didn’t want to...a ship could sink or get caught in a wave storm. Someone could go overboard and drown. I think sometimes we all have to do things we don’t want to.”

He looked at her for a moment before smiling again, “I think you’re over complicating eating pawpaw fruit.”

For a second, Odila wasn’t sure what to say. Instead, she laughed a little, “I’m sorry. I am,” her face felt warm with embarrassment, “...I’ll try it, but only if you promise to try something I bring to market tomorrow.”

Kylan’s face twisted the way her’s had when he first cut into the fruit, “It won’t still be alive, will it? I heard Sifa still eat living fish sometimes.”

Odila gasped a bit, “That’s a terrible, awful rumor. We never eat fish still living. Raw, but not still living.”

“Raw?” she laughed at how wide his eyes got, “Why would you eat any raw fish?”

“I’m eating this fruit raw.”

“Fruit and a living thing aren’t the same thing.”

It was hard not to laugh again, “No. No they’re not. But prepared properly, certain fish can be very tasty when raw.”

“You’re going to make me eat raw fish, aren’t you!?” as handsome as he was, he was very cute as well. In her mind, those were two different things and Kylan did them both very well.

She laughed loudly this time, nearly dropping the pawpaw fruit, “No. I won’t do that. Something like that wouldn’t have survived the trip here without spoiling,” reaching over, she took the spoon from him and dug it into the pawpaw fruit. The feel of it just on the spoon was still unappealing to her, “You’re going to eat pollicipes.”

Odila took a breath before shoving the spoon in her mouth, “I’m going to eat what?” 

Kylan was right. The pawpaw was good. It was sweet. The texture was still something she didn’t like. It was simply too mushy for her, “Pollicipes. They grow on the sides of our ships. We break them off and eat them. We brought some in a barrel of sea water. I’ll make sure yours are cooked.”

“You eat something that grows on your boat?” he still sounded shocked.

“You eat things that grow out of the ground. What’s the difference?”

“...nothing, I guess,” setting the pawpaw fruit aside, Odila had no intentions of eating anymore of it. She’d bring the pollicipes tomorrow, but she wouldn’t make him eat one if he didn’t want to. Just as she was sure he wouldn’t have made her eat the pawpaw.

It was nice out tonight. The sky was cloudy, but that helped cool it down from the daytime warmth. There was a fire going in the center of the village and Gelflings were entertaining themselves. Music was playing and conversations were going on everywhere. Odila had never seen so many Gelflings in one place before. It wasn’t like the trading time during the day. Then tension dulled a little as brews were consumed and Gelflings started to relax. Kylan and she were sitting off to the side next to a pot of broth he had made. Occasionally, others would come by to get some and talk to them. They were certainly a lot nicer to her now than they were during the day. Kylan said that was normal. They weren’t trying to haggle anything out of her right now, so they had no reason to be mean.

“Tell me more about your family ship. I hope to get to see one some day.”

He asked a lot about her since they had sat down on the logs behind his broth pot. It was strange to have someone ask about herself. Odette didn’t care what she was doing so long as it didn’t involve her work. Obie would ask simple things like if her day was going well, but he didn’t really want details. Her parents were in about the same like as her brother. The few other Gelflings she had met that came to their ship didn’t ask much either. It was just odd to have to answer things. 

“Well, I think I’ve told you everything. It’s nothing special. Nothing like our clanship. The Omerya is made of living coral,” she had only been on it twice in her trines, “It’s beautiful and always followed by schools of hooyim.”

“What’s hooyim?”

“Oh! They are wonderful!” she loved the hooyim, “They are these large, jewel colored fish. They could carry a Gelfling on their backs if they wanted. Not that they do. Their scales shine in the suns and moons lights like little gems when they jump out of the water. My favorite are the green ones.”

“You like the color green?” she nodded, “The hooyim sound lovely. I hope to see them when I visit the Silver Sea some day.”

Kylan was a little different from the other Spriton she had met. They were all very happy to stay here on their farms and in their plains. Kylan seemed to want to travel though, “You want to see a lot of things. You mentioned going to the Crystal Sea before.”

“I do. I want to do amazing things and see all of Thra. Just like Jarra-Jen,” that was quite the dream, she thought. Everyone knew of Jarra-Jen. Some believed the heroic Gelfling had been real and some thought it was just stories. Odila had never put much into whether she thought they were true or not, “I know all of his stories by heart. I can sing every one of them.”

“That’s amazing, Kylan. I can barely remember one song, much less all of Jarra-Jen’s stories.”

He looked away bashfully, “It’s not amazing. You can’t do much singing songs and making broth,” for the first time since she met him, he seemed down. His tone was softer. Every Gelfling had a weak spot and this seemed to be his. She had froze and turned into a mess in front of the Spriton Maudra, meanwhile Kylan seemed to have issues with his place in life.

“I think both of those are wonderful. I can’t do either. My broth tastes like stale sea water. I’ve never met a song storyteller before. I’d like to hear you before the market days are over.”

He smiled softly, but still looked down at his feet, “Tomorrow, when I finish your firca.”

“I’d like that.”

“Maybe then you could show me a hooyim.”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have one with us. We try never to catch them. It would be impossible to travel with one even if we did. I don’t think we have a big enough barrel,” she hoped that wasn’t too much of a disappointment to him.

Kylan smiled again. It was embarrassing how it made her heart flutter whenever he did that, “I meant we could dreamfast.”

It was her turn to feel bashful. Odila felt her face go hot and she tensed a little as she looked down at the dirt, “I...I don’t think I could…”

“Can’t dreamfast? All Gelfling can dreamfast.”

“I know that…I just mean that I’ve never...I’ve never done it before...” Odila hadn’t admitted to anyone before that she’d never dreamfasted before. Even Odette dreamfasted, “...I’m not sure I should…”

“Oh,” he sounded as surprised as he had to hear that she ate things that grew on the side of her boat.

“Don’t say it like that,” it was hard not to snap a little, “I’m sorry. I just...I’m sure not every Gelfling has done it. I’m sure there are plenty who haven’t.”

“Yes. Sure. Of course,” not that he sounded positive about that, “I guess we sometimes forget what a private things memories can be,” not that her issue with it was that. Odila just had no reason to ever do it before. Odette and Obie certainly weren’t interested in anything she had to share. Meanwhile, she spent day and night with her mother and father. Even if she did swim off for a day, they never had reason to dreamfast with her about it.

“Yeah…” she started, but a wet drop hit her cheek and cut her off, “Hn?” both of them looked up and a few more drops hit her face, “It’s starting to rain.”

“Pity, but it’s bound to happen at least once during these market days,” he smiled, “Need me to walk you back?”

“No. I can manage. I brought a fish with me,” she pulled one of the dried fish from her small bag and he laughed, “I hope I can sit with you after market tomorrow…”

“I’d like it if you did,” he didn’t hesitate to respond and that made her knees feel weak as she stood up, “Good night, Odila.”

“Good night, Kylan.”

She made her way back to their tent as quickly as she could, but it was difficult as the rain started to fall and soften the dirt under her feet. A slick surface wasn’t an issue for her, but she was used to it being a solid wood surface. The dirt turned to mud and she slipped all over the place. Part of her wished she had let Kylan walk her back. He probably could have kept her from falling face first into the mud as many times as she did.

By the time she slipped into the tent, she was soaking wet and covered in mud. Obie wasn’t here, his cot was empty. He likely stayed with some Gelflings back in the village. Odette was sitting next to a box with a candle lit and writing in her journal. She kept track of all the days trading in it. 

The older Gelfling eyed her, “Don’t get anything dirty.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” she snapped a little as she started pulling her wet and dirty clothing off. She would have to wash them in the stream in the morning. For now, she set them atop her chest at the end of her cot. All she wanted to do was climb into her blankets and keep warm until she dried off.

“Did you let that Spriton boy kiss and nuzzle you?”

The question was not only inappropriate, but completely out of character and out of the ordinary for her sister, “Odette! That’s...that’s none of your business!”

“Yes it is. Mother and Father aren’t here and I’m the eldest. It’s my responsibility to make sure you’re not behaving shamefully.”

Her face felt hot, but not in embarrassment this time. She felt upset and even angry at her sister, “Would you ask the same thing of Obie if he’d even bothered to come back? It’s none of your business if I want to kiss or nuzzle another Gelfling. Perhaps I shouldn’t even come back tomorrow night. How shameful would that be for everyone to know that not only did your little sister spend time alone with a Spriton, but that she spent the whole night with him? Since that’s all you seem to care about is how I’m behaving.”

Yanking her blanket from the cot, she wrapped it around herself as Odette stood up fast, nearly knocking the candle over, “You’re acting like a childling.”

“And you’re such a gobermouch!”

Odette’s mouth dropped as she gasped, “You skelpie-limmer!” their eyes locked and Odila could feel the anger in her sister. It was matched by her own anger, “Odila, you don’t understand…”

“And how can I?! You never let me do anything for myself without a fight!”

“Because I don’t want you to get hurt like I did!”

It took a moment for the words to sink in, “Like you?”

“Never mind. Just go to sleep. Do as you please,” Odette waved a hand before slowly sitting back down at her box.

“Odette…”

“I said never mind. Say anything else and I’ll make you sleep out in the rain.”

Odila stared at her sister, but the other Gelfling seemed to be ready to drop the conversation. Not that it had been much of a conversation. A fight, really, “Sister…”

“Go to sleep.”

Odette got what Odette wanted typically. The tight feeling in her stomach told her to let Odette have her way again. She’d pushed it by going to spend time with Kylan tonight. Pushing again might really land her sleeping in the mud. She knew Odette didn’t make threats she didn’t intend on keeping.

Climbing into her cot, blanket tight around her, she turned her back to her sister and tried to find sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been slightly updated on 9/20/2019 after being posted on 9/18/2019 due to receiving information that the red hair paladin known as "Freckles" is actually a Sifa and not a Vapra. Update is not huge and does not change the context of the chapter. Confirmed he is a Sifa from the puppeteer and voice actor's Instagram (warrickbp) who posted about it a day after I posted this chapter. ^_^

Odila watched in amazement as the paladins dismounted from their landstriders. She had seen them going aboard their clanship from a distance and even from a small distance as she travelled from the Silver Sea to get here to Sami Thicket, but she’d never been this close to the All-Maudra’s paladin before. Most of them were Vapra. Their shades of white blond hair and soft blue uniforms stuck out against the Thra-toned colors in Sami Thicket. She wasn’t the only one watching them as the Princess Tavra dismounted with them. Odila had never seen a princess before.

“Is she really a princess?”

Kylan rested his chin on her shoulder a little from behind, “Why would I lie about that?”

It had been two days since they first spent time together. Odila liked him very much, but she noticed something odd about him. The half-Spriton, half-Stonewood song-teller wasn’t as well liked as he had claimed in the beginning. It was true enough that he was kind and gentle, but she heard things about him. He was an orphan. Before his father and mother’s death, they had lived on the borders of the Dark Woods. He was only a few trines old when his parents were killed by some large predator. 

The reason some gave him looks or sneered at him was because he claimed it wasn’t just some wild beast. He swore that it was a Skeksis. A strong, wild Skeksis. When he was still a childling, those stories had been laughed off. Yet as he got older, the stories weren’t tolerated. He wasn’t allowed to talk about the Lords of the Crystal that way. He hadn’t even told her that. She had heard it from someone who came to their cart the day before after seeing her with him the prior night.

It wasn’t only that that seemed to put off the other Spriton. While the clan was known to be fierce warriors, rivaling the Stonewood, they were generally peaceful and hard to move to fighting. They were quiet and liked their farms. Kylan wanted to be an adventurer. It didn’t matter if he could barely hold a sword. He wanted to travel and be a hero like Jarra-Jen. Kylan was surprisingly disruptive to the farming village despite his quiet nature. Other Gelflings got tired of his stories quickly.

Odila didn’t mind it though. He sang and played his firca for her last night. He was a lovely singer. He sang to her one of the stories of Jarra-Jen. It made her miss the sound of Gelfling’s singing on their ships and their voices carrying over the water at night. 

Looking at him from the side of her eye, she brought up one of the dried fish and bopped him gently between the eyes with it, “Don’t do that.”

“What?”

“If Odette sees you with your head on my shoulder, her head will roll like a fizzgig.”

“Why? Does she think I might do something inappropriate with you?”

“Yes,” she said rather bluntly.

He gasped in shock and she laughed softly, “I think I’m offended.”

“Don’t be. Odette thinks everyone is up to something inappropriate. Except for herself,” it was hard not to roll her eyes.

Odila had spent the day following her first night out with Kylan thinking about her fight with Odette. At first, she thought her sister just wanted to give their clan a good name compared to the rumors by putting down such harsh rules. But that one nagging comment about not wanting Odila to get hurt the way she had wasn’t something she could ignore. Thinking that Odette had formed any kind of affectionate relationship with any other Gelfling was just unimaginable. Calm, collected, overly rational, and cold Odette didn’t have affectionate relationships. 

She had brought it up to Kylan the night after. Asking if he had ever interacted with her sister on her trips to Sami Thicket before. He said that other than trading for some fish, he hadn’t until they had met each other a few days ago. It felt rude to nose around and ask too many people. Obie wouldn’t tell her anything. Just said to let it go and try not to get on Odette’s bad side too much.

Her thoughts came back to the present as she realized the Princess and the paladins were getting close to their cart. They stopped at several, collecting things and putting them into a cart, “What’s going on?” she whispered back to Kylan.

“They are collecting tithes to take back to Ha’rar for those that can’t make it to the tithing ceremony.”

Odila was aware of the tithing ceremony. The Lords of the Crystal would come from their castle to Ha’rar to accept gifts of respect from the Gelflings. The Sifa rarely attended. Occasionally, Elder Cadia was expected to go. Odila had never thought about how her family or clan provided their tithings before, “Am I supposed to give them something?”

“Probably. Where is your sister?” that was a good question. This seemed like something she should be taking care of. Instead, she had still been in the tent this morning when Obie helped her bring the cart down.

“It’s okay, I got this,” Obie’s voice made them both jump a little. He tended to disappear most of the day and sometimes not return to their tent at night.

Kylan put a hand over his chest, “Could have died of fright,” he shook his head a little as Obie nudged him out of the way.

Thankfully, the princess herself didn’t come over. She continued on towards the Maudra’s hut, but two of her paladins came over. Odila just watched quietly as they greeted her brother. They were both Vapra. One was a girl, a little shorter than herself, and small faced. The other was a boy, tall, with light red hair and freckles across his face. He was handsome. She’d never seen a Sifa with such light red hair before, but she could tell he was Sifa. Probably half Vapra like Kylan was half Stonewood.. Though she still thought Kylan was better looking.

“Obie,” the male paladin referred to her brother by name. Odila realized that both her siblings must have interacted with these paladins before and possibly the princess. It seemed strange to her for some reason. 

“Good to see you again…”

Before her brother could say his name, the paladin cut him off, “I don’t see Odette. Who is this?”

The red haired Gelfling’s eyes were on her and she instinctively reached her hand out and touched the back of Kylan’s hand. It felt like standing in front of Maudra Mera again. Just that twisted feeling in her stomach and that tied feeling in her tongue that let her know that talking would be impossible. On a ship, she felt so confident, but here on land it still felt forgien, “This is our youngling sister, Odila.”

“And where is Odette? She usually handles these things.”

“We thought we would change it up a little this time. Not like it takes that much to point out a barrel and watch you lot load it into a cart.”

The conversation felt oddly tense. Odette was the logical one, Obie was the relaxed one, and Odila was considered the sea wild one. Yet Obie seemed on edge. Perhaps he simply didn’t like dealing with the paladins. It felt to ease her feelings as Kylan wrapped his fingers around hers, “Will she be out later?”

“Don’t know. She wasn’t feeling well this morning,” which was a lie. Obie hadn’t even talked to Odette this morning. He came back to the tent just to help her pull the cart down, but he hadn’t been there last night, “You know how hard it is for us picaroons when we come on land,” Odila was surprised to hear her brother use such an insulting term for their own people.

“We should go,” Kylan’s voice whispering in her ear made her jump a little.

Odila wanted to stay, but she felt out of place. Like there was something going on that she couldn’t understand. The longer she stayed here, the more likely she was to be pulled into it and say something regretful. Kylan made the choice easy for her though. His fingers twined with hers and she felt the warmth entering her cheeks.

Slowly, she left her brother to deal with the paladins. Once they were a good distance away, she spoke finally, “I don’t like him. The paladin. He’s...skeevy.”

“Really? Most people like him.”

“I don’t. He doesn’t like us. The Sifa. His own people,” she and Kylan had talked about that before a little, “No one does. It doesn’t help when the All-Maudra’s own paladin act like that. A Sifa paladin cutting off my brother like that,” she shook her head.

“I like the Sifa.”

Odila smiled a little, “I know you do. You’re kind, Kylan. They like the Dousan more than they like us, because they at least respect the Dousan. They don’t respect us. They see us as pirates and swindlers. It’s even worse when our own treat us like that.”

They moved from the main part of the village to the small tree line behind the huts. It was a nice, quiet spot this time of day while everyone was busy trading. Especially with the princess and paladins. All the Gelflings wanted to see them, so they got plenty of free space to walk around in with privacy. Their hands swinging gently between them as they held hands. His thumb gently stroked the side of her hand.

Eventually, they came to sit under a shady tree and Kylan began playing his firca for a few moments, “You know, there is a song about two lovers. One made of fire and one of ice. They knew they couldn’t ever touch, so they just sat together for hundreds of trines. Just talking and looking into each others eyes.”

“That sounds sad,” she said softly.

“It does, but they knew they wanted to be together, so they did the only thing they were able to. They could have separated and never saw each other again. Moved on with their lives. Learned to be content. Instead, they chose to do whatever it was they could to be together.”

It still sounded sad, “Did they ever get to touch hands?”

“Once. When their hands touched, they shared the entirety of their hearts in one moment. Her fire melted his ice and his ice doused her fire. They were happy in their last moments, because they knew everything there was to know about each other. Nothing else mattered to them.”

Odila blushed softly, “It still sounds sad, but it’s beautiful. You should sing it for me tonight.”

Setting his firca down, Kylan moved closer to her, “I’d like to,” his fingers touched hers again. It was difficult to look away from him as their eyes locked together. Her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest as he leaned in more. His lips brushed against hers softly. It wasn’t a kiss. It was just a light touch.

An almost kiss that would have became a kiss if something in her mind hadn’t clicked. Odila sat back fast, “It’s him!”

“What?” Kylan’s was reasonably confused, “Who’s him?”

“That paladin! The one with the red hair and freckles! He’s the one who hurt Odette!”

That didn’t ease the confusion in the Spriton’s face, “I don’t understand. I thought we were…”

She cut him off though, “Odette didn’t want me around you because she said she didn’t want me getting hurt the way she was. My sister had an affair with a paladin…” she didn’t believe it as she said it.

Apparently neither did Kylan, “I don’t know Odette well, but that doesn’t seem like her.”

“No..it doesn’t...but she hasn’t always been like this. It’s only a few trines ago that she really started to become unbearable. That must be when it happened.”

“That’s...something,” the Spriton seemed unsure of how to take part in this. 

“I have to go,” Odila started climbing to her feet fast.

“W-wait. Where are you going?” he reached out and touched her hand again.

“I have to go talk to Odette,” it felt important. Realizing that there was something more to her icy sister was a shock and the curious Sifa side of herself told her that this was a priority.

“Will I see you tonight?”

But the young Gelfling side of her wanted to sit back down with the handsome song-teller and finish what they had started, “Yes. After the third sun sets. I’ll be back here.”

He smiled. Whether he understood the situation fully or not didn’t matter. He seemed happy to know she would be coming back to see him, “I look forward to it.”

“I do too…” but for now, she had something important to investigate.

Odila turned and ran from the Spriton. Her legs were much more steady now and she didn’t pound the dirt with her feet nearly as hard, allowing her to run properly. She had to see her sister.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things can't be sweet and cute all the time. Sometimes they have to get a little sad before they get happy again.

“I’m your sister! Why can’t you trust me?! Just talk to me, Odette!” yelling was normally beyond them except when storms were bad and it was the only way to hear above the waves and wind.

“Because it’s not your business!”

Odila had tried to be calm about it when she first came to the tent and saw her sister sitting at her box again with her paper. She’d made a comment about seeing the paladins for the first time, hoping to lead into a conversations. When it hadn’t worked, her sister just sitting quietly, she pushed a little further. Commenting that one of them was a red haired paladin that she thought was handsome. That earned a slight change in her sister’s stony face, but still no words. What started the fight was a small lie to see what reaction she would get. Just a simple _‘I’m thinking about going to see him after the suns set, since he’s a Sifa’_ was enough.

She hadn’t meant for it to cause a fight.

“But you’re my sister! How can it not be my business when it involves my own blood?!” they had been shouting at each other for some time now. Obie had come in at one point and tried to settle them, but he was now sitting outside the tent flap after they had run him out. He was there to make sure neither of them got physical in their fighting, “And it is about me! You said you didn’t want me to get hurt the way you did, but you won’t tell me what happened! How is that fair?!”

Odette turned away fast, crossing her arms across her chest, and tensing up, “Please, Odette...Do you remember when we thought Mother and Father were lost in the storm when I was little? You let me cry and you held me. You told me it would be alright. You told me it was okay to be said and to cry. That I could tell you how I was feeling if it made me feel better...Wouldn’t it make you feel better to talk about it?”

The look her sister gave her over her shoulder was sharp enough to cut a tree, “No. Because I’m not a childling anymore and neither are you.” 

“Then stop treating me like one. If I’m not a childling anymore, then I deserve more than ‘because I said so’ as an answer.”

It was well past the third sun falling behind the horizon. Their tent had gone dark, because neither of them could be bothered to stop their fighting to light a candle, “Do you know anything about that boy?”

“What?”

“Kylan. Do you know anything about him?”

“He’s a song-teller. He’s an orphan. He’s part Stonewood. What does that have to do with anything?”

Odette shook her head, “You don’t know anything about him. He’s a joke to his own people. He can’t ride a landstrider, his own clan sigil animal. He can’t use a spear. He can’t even throw a bola. He never has anything of real value to trade, because he has no land to grow on. Maudra Mera took him in out of pity and taught him to read and write in the hope he could at least be of use with that. But he’s not. I’ve come here trine after trine to see him going around trying to make friends with anyone who will give him the time. We don’t though. Because it’s a waste of our time.”

She had seen the harshness that other Gelflings had in them. Things were different confined on her boat. She never had to see any of that. Odette was the only one who mildly behaved that way. It hurt a little to see how awful Gelflings were to each other. The animosity between clans wasn’t where it ended. That Sifa paladin had talked down to her brother, one from his own clan. Then to hear how people thought of Kylan was terrible. Odila hadn’t thought it was that bad, but then she remembered how she had gone down to the village after market time to sit with him.

No one ever came to sit with them or invited them to join in on the music playing or singing. Very few came by to take any of the brother Kylan always made. They just sat off to the side and talked to each other. 

It was a lot to take in and she pursed her lips together as she looked down at her feet, “What...what does that have to do with anything?”

“He’s a Spriton and a Stonewood. Two clans known for their prowess in battle who are often made guards to the Lords of the Crystal. Yet he possesses none of that. Nothing like the toughness we Sifa’s have to build up to endure life on the water. You find him endearing and sweet...and he is.”

Odila still didn’t understand what this had to do with Odette’s past, “Why does that matter?”

“Because, he’s so sweet that he doesn’t realize what he’s doing. You’re both young. You’re the first to give him the attention he wants and he’s the first Gelfling outside of our family you’ve spent any real time with. Neither of you are thinking about the future. Not even the longer term future, but the very near future. Market days are ending soon. Have you thought about that at all, Sister?”

She hadn’t and she shook her head slowly as she looked back down at her feet, “Of course you haven’t. You’re just thinking about holding hands with him, kissing him, spending time with him, and listening to him sing his stories. Yet in a few days, a week at the most, you’re going back to our ship and he’s staying here.”

The tight feeling in her stomach hurt, “But we could…”

“But nothing. That’s it. If you’re lucky, you’ll come back next trine and see him again. You’ll get caught up in it again, because you’ll remember how nice it was this time. But each time, it will get more and more painful to leave. Then one day you’ll see him and you won’t be able to bring yourself to speak to him, because you’d rather just not see him at all than go through the pain of parting again.”

Looking at her sister’s face, she saw something she rarely saw in Odette. Feeling. She looked sad to have to say all of this. Odette didn’t want to say all those bad things about Kylan’s skills and personality. She was cold and hard, but she wasn’t generally cruel. It pained her to be cruel, “...is that what happened to you and that paladin?”

Once again, her sister did something she rarely did. She smiled a little, “No, but close enough. I met him on the Omerya when Maudra Ethri asked me to start doing the land trade routes. He wasn’t a paladin then.”

She waited a moment to see if her sister would continue, but she didn’t, “So what happened?” there was just something about learning more about her stoic sister that was appealing. Odette had always seemed like an imposing figure. To see her becoming emotional was strange.

“History is history,” that wasn’t the satisfying answer she had hoped to get. For the first time in her life, Odette seemed interesting. Seemed more than just a gelfling that kept her nose in a ledger and only cared about the sea harvest and good trade days. But it was late and her throat felt sore from her part of the yelling beforehand, “You should go. I’m sure you had planned on going to see Kylan before now.”

“What?” she asked confused, “I thought...I thought you didn’t want me seeing him?”

“I don’t, but you’re going to do what you want to do. Just know, it won’t end well. It can’t. Not only is he a Spriton, but he’s a Stonewood as well. Don’t get too attached. If you get this attached to the first gelfling you see, how are you ever going to handle working the trade routes with Obie and I? Just think about that.”

It was something to think about, not that she wanted to. She did like Kylan. Odette was right to say that she hadn’t thought about what was going to happen when they were done trading here in Sami Thicket. They were supposed to head back north towards the Silver Sea coast, stopping for a day of trades in Stone-in-the-Wood on their way through. They would be passing through Ha’rar just after the tithing ceremony was finished if they stayed on Odette’s schedule. She would be leaving Kylan.

It left a heavy feeling in her chest to think about. Even more when she thought about his lips brushing against hers. Odila had wanted to kiss him too. Part of her wished she hadn’t run off from him, but another part of her wondered if it was for the best that they hadn’t kissed.

Maybe she hadn’t been ready to leave the sea at all.

Instead of leaving the tent, she walked over to her cot and sat down on it, “I think...I think I’m just going to...rest tonight…can you tell Obie to tell Kylan I’m not feeling well?” that was the same lie Obie had told to the paladin about Odette.

She could feel her sister’s eyes on her for a few short moments, “Very well. I’ll leave the candles out then. I’ll let Obie know.”

Odila laid down and curled up on her cot. Pulling her pillow to her chest to hug it.


	7. Chapter 7

Putting it off wasn’t doing her any favors. She just kept hoping that if she stayed in the tent long enough then he might just leave. He didn’t though. It was well past the third sun setting and Kylan was still sitting outside on a barrell according to Obie. It felt wrong to let him just sit out there, but Odila didn’t know how to handle the situation. To say that her siblings were useless for assistance was an overstatement due to them giving conflicting advice. Obie told her to go out and talk to Kylan, but that would involve her making some sort of a decision that she wasn’t ready to make. Meanwhile, Odette said that she didn’t have to confront him if she didn’t want to. That she could just ignore him if she wanted to do that. 

The ignore option seemed good at first. She stayed in their tent all day, not going to market, with Odette. Her older sister seemed to be in the mood to doing some ignoring of her own towards a certain paladin. The two sat quietly in the tent all day. Neither addressing the other, just privately ignoring their problems. Odette worked on her journals and ledgers, while Odila mostly just laid there staring at the ceiling and sleeping. She tried sorting through her remaining shells, but that just made her think about Kylan and him going through them the first night they sat together.

She spent most of the day like that. Just sitting. Until she heard Kylan outside the tent. He called out to her and Odette looked at her for a moment to see if she would go outside. But she didn’t. Like a coward, she just sat quietly on her cot as Kylan asked if she was in there. Odette eventually got tired of it and shouted that Odila wasn’t feeling well. 

Until Obie came back, she thought he had left for good, but apparently he had come back. Her brother told her that he was sitting outside with a bowl of broth. When Obie had come back to check on them, Kylan had told him that the broth was for her to help her feel better. Obie refused to take it in and was insisting that she go out and deal with the situation. Odette said she didn’t have to. That he could sit out there all night if he wanted to and she didn’t have to even look at him.

It was tempting to do like Odette said. If she ignored Kylan all night and then ignored him if he showed up at their cart tomorrow, he would get the point on his own and leave her alone. Yet when she looked at her sister now, she felt sad for her. Odette had always been this imposing figure, but now she just seemed pitiful. Now she was sad, quiet Odette who didn’t have the heart left to love. Who sat quietly working on her trade books and who the only thing anyone knew about her was that she was a hard trader. She was a broken Gelfling now and Odila felt sad for her sister. Did she really want to end up like that?

It was dark out, but the glow flies were roaming around and she could see Kylan sitting on top of a barrel of dried fish. In his hands was the bowl of broth. He straightened up and smiled when he saw her. He hopped off the barrel as she got closer, “I hope you’re feeling better.”

His kindness made her feel worse, “I am...I mean...I’m not...I don’t,” she sighed softly and shook her head, “I don’t need to feel better,” for a moment, Odila thought about lying. But she didn’t. Lying is what Odette was doing to avoid her own problems, “I don’t need to feel better, because I wasn’t feeling bad…” there, she said it. Not that she had been the one to lie to him in the first place. That was Odette who had told him she was ill. Still, it felt good to clear the air, even if it still hurt her chest.

“I know.”

That didn’t make her feel any better as she wrapped her arms around herself, “You’re...so sweet, Kylan.”

“Is that why you don’t want to see me anymore?”

“...No,” she didn’t want him thinking if he was a meaner person that she’d let things be different, “We’re leaving soon. I won’t see you again. I like you very much, Kylan. You’re not like any Gelfling I’ve met before,” he certainly wasn’t like any of the Sifa she had met, but he wasn’t like the other Gelfling she had met here in Sami Thicket. As she’d said, he was just sweet and she liked that, “But I’m going home. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“...I know…” he looked down and she felt the heaviness in her chest get that much more heavy, “I really like you too, Odila.”

For a moment, they were both silent. Just letting it hang there painfully, “Kylan, you sing about Jarra-Jen and all his adventures. You talk about how much you would love to see all the places he did...why don’t you? Why do you stay here in Sami Thicket?” where he was obviously unwanted.

“Sami Thicket is my home. Where would I go?”

Odila wanted to say that she could come with them, but that felt almost wrong, “You could go anywhere you wanted,” but if he was willing to leave Sami Thicket, maybe they could see each other more than once a trine.

The look on his face told her all she needed to know. He looked sad and even a little upset. Kylan wasn’t ready to leave and there was no one to really push him. She had been nervous to leave her family ship, but her Maudra and family pushed her to it. No one was here to push Kylan and it didn’t feel like her place to do it, “I’ll see you when you come back next trine, won’t I?”

Odila forced a small smile and nod, “Yes. I’ll bring you more shells.”

She watched as he moved to set the bowl of broth down on the barrel he’d been sitting on, “I look forward to it…”

Some part of her screamed to tell him to leave with them. To travel back with them to the Silver Sea and see all the family ships and the Sifan clanship, “...I do too,” she didn’t say it though, “I’ll practice my firca. Maybe I can sing you a Sifa song next time.”

“I’d like that,” he smiled, but it wasn’t the same sort of smile he usually had. It was weak and forced.

The both of them went silent, staring down at the dirt or up at the sky to avoid making eye contact. It took several moments before she could make herself look at him. He was looking up at the night sky. Meeting Kylan had been the highlight of her first trading trip until now. She wanted to blame her sister for it. To believe that if Odette hadn’t got involved, then everything would be fine. Yet she knew that wasn’t true at all. For one, she had been the one to push her sister out of curiosity of her sister’s history with that paladin and ignorance wouldn’t change the inevitable.

Odila reached out and touched his hand softly, making him turn his eyes on her. It made her heart pound faster. It always did when he looked at her. It was hard to imagine she’d ever feel this way again when she’d never imagined feeling this way to begin with just a few days ago, “Kylan…”

“Yes?”

The voice in her head told her to tell him he should come with when they left. That he could come back to the Silver Sea with her, meet her family, see their world, and then sail the waves with them on her family ship until it was time for trading again. He could sing her all the songs of Jarra-Jen while learning new songs. She could show him how to dive for shells. They could hold hands sitting atop the mast and looking up at the stars, “...I’m going to miss you,” but those were the only words she could get to actually come out.

What was she thinking? Wanting to invite some boy she only just met back home with her? Odila knew she wasn’t the smartest gelfling on Thra, but she couldn’t be the stupidest. What would her mother and father say? That was provided she could convince Odette and Obie to let him come along in the first place. It wasn’t as if they were going to be mates.

While she couldn’t get the words out that she wanted to, she did lean in close to him and press their lips together softly. Kylan tensed a little in surprise, but he relaxed and leaned into the kiss. This level of affection was new to her. The feel of his hand against hers and their lips touching was a new sensation. It was warm and soft. It reminded of the water after the warm season. While the air was cooling, most gelfling thought the water would be cold too; but it wasn’t. The lingering heat was still in the waves, making it surprisingly warm. Like Kylan’s kiss. 

Her hand turned against his softly and their fingers pressed against each others. It felt easy to open her heart to him, because she still felt resistant to leaving him behind. To just open up now and let him in felt right. Slowly, she let herself fall into it as her eyes closed. It felt like jumping into the water. It was a familiar sense that made doing something new easier.

She could feel Kylan, but she couldn’t see him. It was like he was standing next to her, but the room was so dark that it was impossible to see him. Was this how it was supposed to feel? It made her heart pound, but more fearfully than before, _“Do you want to stop? We can if you want.”_

His voice sounded hollow in her head, but she still couldn’t see him. It calmed her though, _“No,”_ could he feel her anxiety over this? It made sense that he could. She could feel him too. He felt happy. Happy with her. Because she was doing this. He felt trusted.

The darkness cleared a little. It was like waking up early after not sleeping enough. Like the edges of the world looked fuzzy or like she was peeking through a spyglass. Where only the center was really clear. Right now, all she could see was Kylan. Younger, smaller, and still happy. He was sitting in Maudra Mera’s hall with a book. Odila was still learning to read from Odette, but she recognized the marking on the cover. It was the Stonewood symbol and the name under it was _Jarra-Jen_.

_“Maudra Mera didn’t like me reading the song books. She said I should focus on crop rotation and trading reports. I tried to do as she wanted, but then I found this book,”_ the feeling of happiness intensified. She could feel not only how it made him feel to remember this and to share it with her, but how he felt that day. It was such a strange, but good, way to experience this with him, _“I just wanted to share his stories with everyone I met. I wanted to be just like him.”_

The feeling changed. It felt like something was tugging at her heart. Kylan wanted to connect with her the way he was allowing her to do. It didn’t feel like a forceful pull. It was gentle, just like he was. He was asking for her to let him in. As nervous as she had been at the thought of dreamfasting when he first brought it up, she didn’t feel that way now.

Reliving her own memory in such a way was a new experience she wasn’t expecting either. It was one thing to see Kylan’s memory and experience his feelings about them, but it was much different to see and feel her own. It wasn’t anything like just thinking about something that happened. It was truly like living it again. She could hear the waves outside the cave entrance, smell the salt in the air, hear the dripping of water off the cave ceiling, and feel the water that dripped off her wings as she climbed up from the water.

_“I love this cave,”_ she could feel the water smoothed surface under her feet, even though she was watching herself. It was such a strange and exhilarating feeling, _“I dove too far and I was trying to get to the surface, but my lungs were burning. I didn’t think I was going to make it,”_ she walked further into the cave and found the patch of glowing blue moss. It was bright enough to light up the cave and show that it was actually a cave of coral, _ “I saw the glow and followed it. I was lucky it was a cave.”_

_“This is beautiful, Odila,”_ he said softly.

Coming out of the dreamfast was not as pleasant a feeling. It made her shiver as it felt like the air got suddenly cooler. Their hands parted, as did their lips. To think that they had been kissing that long was surprising, “A good memory to remember you by,” he said.

“Yes. For you too.”

“Until next trine,” he sounded hopeful about it.

Odila wanted to feel the same way, “Next trine.”


	8. Chapter 8

The trip back home seemed to go by much quicker than before. She didn’t really take the time to look around Stone-in-the-Wood or Ha’rar the way she had Sami Thicket. In the back of her mind, she kept telling herself that it would be awful to meet another gelfling that she connected with even half has much as she had Kylan only to leave again. She didn’t have that hard shell built up like Odette did. It was hard not to wonder if the reason her family had taken over the land trading route was because the previous family couldn’t handle it anymore. For the life of her, she couldn’t even remember who it was that used to do the route before Odette took over.

It was just easier to stick with Odette and do as she did on the way home. Now that she had her land legs finally, the walking was quicker and they had no reason not to rush it along. A strange blight seemed to be affecting many areas and there was no reason to stay there to try to trade. 

By the time they reached the port village of Cera-Na, Odila was ready to just get back on their ship. Sadly, that wasn’t an option. Now it was time to trade with the other Sifa. For the first time in her life, Odila didn’t want to see another gelfling. Even though she had never had much contact with anyone outside of her immediate family, she still felt connected with them. Gelfling liked having connections. Her mother and father were all about the hugs, affectionate pats on the head, and even scratches behind her ears. Kylan had showed her new connections she could make and the thought of doing it again so soon was a little sad.

“Did you enjoy your first trip on land, Odila?” she jumped a little at the question and her head shot up fast to see Maudra Ethri standing in front of her. She stood fast from behind the barrel of oats to present herself more appropriately to Gem-Eyed Ethri.

The Maudra was still young and still newer to her role. Maudra Undine’s passing had been hard on all of them. It was Maudra Undine who had given Odette the land route a number of trines ago. The Sifian Maudra’s family and her own family had been connected for a time. Not only did Maudra Undine give them the land route, but Odette had been there the day Maudra Ethri lost her eye in the storm many trines ago.

Absentmindedly, she smoothed out the dirt-red colored tunic Kylan had given her, “It was well, My Maudra. It was difficult walking at first.”

“It always is for those who have never left their ships,” she had always admired the one eyed Maudra, “I’ve heard you made _friends_ with a Spriton boy.”

It was difficult not to let her cheeks warm. Since leaving Sami Thicket, Kylan hadn’t been brought up. Truthfully, it hurt a little that her sister or brother might have told people about her failed romance with the song-teller. No. It wasn’t Obie. She couldn’t see him doing that. Odette would though. She was sure it wouldn’t have been maliciously, but she had learned a lot about her sister on this trip. A broken heart had turned her sister’s heart to stone. She’d even learned that her sister didn’t even dreamfast anymore. Odila was sure that anything her sister said about Kylan was nothing more than that they had a small hiccup in Sami Thicket because she found herself attracted to another gelfling for the first time.

“Uh, yes. I did,” she said slowly.

“Tell me about him.”

Something felt heavy in her stomach. It felt not just strange to be asked about Kylan, but it felt almost wrong. Like there was something that wasn’t being told to her. Still, this was her Maudra. Perhaps the one-eyed gelfling was simply concerned for her well being after her first foray into romantics. Looking into her Maudra’s one good eye and the false eye made of emerald, Odila convinced herself it was just concern, “There’s not much to tell, My Maudra.”

“This _My Maudra_ stuff, you pick it up from your sister,” the other gelfling smiled a little, “Please, tell me about him.”

“Well, he’s...kind and sweet. And, uh...he’s a song-teller.”

“A song-teller. Interesting.”

Odila had avoided thinking about Kylan too much. It hurt. Especially after dreamfasting with him. The intensity of it had left her shivering for some time after it happened. Odette hadn’t been pleased to find out that she had kissed and dreamfasted with the boy, but Obie said the feeling of it would change as she did it more often. Not that she felt in any place to do such a thing again, “He was very good at it. He made me a firca,” which she kept in a small bag on her hip.

“And that tunic, I’m guessing…?”

Her eyes looked down at the red top she was wearing. It was very Spriton styled and just a little darker in color than his own had been. It was nearly the same color as the curls on top of her head, “Y-yes. He did.”

“It’s lovely. It’s good to pick up clothing of the local villages. Makes them more comfortable trading with you if they feel you respect their customs,” not that she cared about that. She liked it because Kylan had given it to her, not because it was Spriton made, “What else about him?”

It was difficult to find what to say, “I’m not...really...sure.”

The Maudra moved to lean up against the barrel, making the interaction a little less formal. Still, that heavy feeling sat in her stomach, “Nothing at all? If he gave you a tunic and a firca, he must have fancied you quite a bit. Did you two get close?”

“I...we…” she felt her ears getting hot this time.

“Physical closeness is craved by all gelfling, Odila. There’s nothing to be embarrassed by in enjoying it,” while intimacy was kept in private, it was well known that most gelfling would share a level of intimacy with any number of gelfling before choosing a mate. The wound from Kylan was too fresh for her to consider being that way with another yet. Though their affections had been greatly limited compared to what it could have been had Odette not got involved.

It was strange to talk about it, but she kept reminding herself that this was her Maudra. It was her job to be aware of the lives of her people, especially ones that handled such important things as a trade route, “It was just one kiss...and a dreamfast. Just once.”

“Your first for both?” Odila nodded lightly, “What did you dreamfast with him?”

As much as she kept telling herself that this was just her Maudra being concerned, the feeling in her stomach kept getting worse and worse. Sharing the details of a dreamfast seemed overly private to share. What Kylan had shown her was something he chose to show her in a moment of intimacy. To tell anyone, even her Maudra, felt wrong. Really wrong, “I’m not sure I want to talk about it…”

“Was it bad?”

“Oh, no. Not bad. Just...private.”

“Private. I see,” the one-eyed Maudra was silent for a moment. Long enough that Odila shifted in discomfort, “Have you heard of mind-sickness, Odila?”

“N-no,” even though the Maudra wasn’t much older than herself and just barely taller than herself, she felt small under the one-eyed gaze.

“A gelfling with an ill mind can pass on their sickness through dreamfasting. It’s important to make sure the gelfling you’re dreamfasting with is of sound mind.”

Odila may have never dreamfasted before Kylan, but she had heard of it and seen it plenty. Obie dreamfasted often with just about any gelfling they came across. Odette didn’t, but there was a reason for that. She saw her mother and father dreamfasting many times. Never once had she heard of a sickness that could be spread through it, “I’ve never heard of that, My Maudra.”

“It’s a recent illness. A castle guard became mad and murdered one of his fellow guards before fleeing,” this was shocking news to hear. Odette had mentioned keeping weapons on them as they traveled because of rumors of a murder, but she hadn’t known the details, “Many have been infected by him. He convinces them to dreamfast with him to learn some horrible truth he has convinced himself of. He swears the Lords of the Crystal murdered the other guard. Once they dreamfast with him, they become infected and mad as well. Become violent with those that confront them. The sickness has spread all the way to Ha’rar.”

They had avoided Ha’rar on their way back. There would be too much to deal with because of the recent tithing ceremony. Odette said post tithing trading was a mess and rarely yielded anything of use. It went unspoken that it was also to avoid any running into her sister’s red haired paladin. It had caused them to take an extra three days to get home, but Obie said this is how they always did it, “It has?”

“Yes. Infected the All-Maudra,” her eyes widened in shock. Even taking the way around Ha’rar, they had still heard of the death of All-Maudra Mayrin, but they had not heard details, “She went mad and tried to attack the Lords. They had to defend themselves. I’m only just back from what should have been the crowning of our new All-Maudra…” she trailed off a little, her real and false eye both looking down a bit as she tilted her head for a moment, “Our new All-Maudra wants to wipe out this talk of our Lords, the supposed blight, and bring those ill minded to our Lords to be cured.”

“...that seems reasonable, My Maudra,” Odila had never seen a Lord of the Crystal, “I’m sorry to hear all of this happened while we were gone.”

“Yes. It has been a very long few days. Even though I just saw the other Maudras the other day, I received word from one of them this morning that the sickness might have found it’s way to us.”

“Because of Ha’rar?”

“...No. Because one of our own dreamfasted with a gelfling known to have the mind-sickness. He willingly dreamfasted with the sick guard. A poor choice, but he is not the first and won’t be the last,” that heavy feeling in her stomach was creeping up her throat. It burned like bile, “Maudra Mera is fearful that a gelfling she took in as a childling infected one of us.”

Odila didn’t need to hear anymore to realize she had been wrong about Maudra Ethri’s intention in speaking with her. This wasn’t concern for her heart at all. Her stomach had been right all along in telling her that something about this was wrong, “My Maudra…”

“Since we have no way of knowing whether you dreamfasted with this Kylan...” Odila had never said his name. It confirmed that Maudra Ethri had been trying to get information out of her to determine her mental state the whole time that she already knew his name, “...before or after he became afflicted, I am going to have to take you back to the Omerya to be detained.”

“W-what?”

“I’m sorry, Odila, but I’ve already spoken with your mother and father about this. It’s what needs to be done. At least until we can determine whether you have been affected by this mind-sickness.”

This wasn’t right. Kylan wasn’t sick. They had it wrong. It was some other gelfling. Even if it was Kylan, he hadn’t infected her in anyway. She was positive she would know by now if she was sick in any way, “I’m not ill.”

“All of those who are ill don’t know that they are. This is for the best, Odila.”

“...what’s going to happen to me?” she felt tears starting to well up in her eyes. They started to flow as she looked around and realized everyone was watching them. Her mother and father weren’t far away. Her mother was crying and her father was holding her. Odette and Obie were nearby too. Both of them looked distressed. Odette looked the most upset though. She looked guilty. Like it was her fault that their Maudra knew that Odila had been close with Kylan.

“The Captain will be coming to inspect you. The others who have been found to be afflicted have been taken back to the Crystal Castle.”

The Captain. The skeksis who was fond of her clan. Sometimes called the Mariner. She had never seen the Mariner up close. Only from a distance from her family ship. Everyone got excited to see the Mariner’s large vessal called the Vassa, “...I’m not sick...” she said weakly.

“Please don’t make this difficult, Odila. If you’re not ill, the Captain will release you back to your family provided you have no information about Kylan. If you are ill, she will take you to be healed by the Lords of the Crystal at the castle,” without thinking, Odila took a step back from her Maudra, “If you won’t come willingly, you will brought unwillingly. Making this difficult will not help to prove you mind is healthy, Odila.”

Run. That’s what her heart said to do. But where would she go? Maybe she was ill. Was it the illness telling her to run and distrust her own Maudra. Was the sickness causing these feelings in her? The true cause of that heaviness in her stomach, “I…” her head felt light. This was all happening very suddenly. Perhaps it was the words her Maudra was using. That she was being detained, as if she had done something wrong, “I didn’t do anything wrong…”

“I know you didn’t. You had no way of knowing. You just need to come with me until the Captain has seen you.”

“Odila…” it was her sister’s voice. Her eyes narrowed at the older gelfling. This was her fault, “Got with Maudra Ethri. This will all be sorted out soon and you’ll be back home with mother and father.”

She wasn’t sure what came over her, “This is your fault!” she snapped at her older sister, “You told Ethri about Kylan and me! You just can’t keep anything to yourself unless it involves you!”

“Odila!” her mother scolded, “That’s enough.”

Everyone seemed to start talking loudly. Before she could say or do anything else, she felt hands grabbing at her from behind, “Let me go!” it was Maudra Ethri’s guards. Their fingers tightened, pinning her arms to her sides as she started to struggle, “Let me go!”

“Maudra Ethri, don’t you think this is a little much? She’s just a childling,” her father tried to defend as Odila started kicking and thrashing, “Odila, you must calm yourself.”

“Let me go!” she shouted as loudly as she could.

“Back to the Omerya. Detain her until the Captain has been able to look at her. I’m sorry it has to be this way, Odila. I truly am. This is what our new All-Maudra and the Lords feels is best. Thra willing, you will be back home with your family shortly.”

The little Sifa continued to kick and shout as the guards gathered her up in their arms and started dragging her towards the docks.


End file.
